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Just over 7 years ago, we saw this push for LTE. Verizon was one of the first to roll the network out across the nation. They had several LTE phones and hotspots to boast with their LTE network.

As other companies tried to play catch up, we saw AT&T roll out their own “4G” network that was really just 3G (HSPA+). Eventually AT&T and the other carriers would finally catch up to Verizon with their own LTE network that spanned across the nation.

Now we are on the verge of another advancement in wireless speeds. This being in the form of 5G. With speeds ranging as high as 1 Gig down, the race to be the first to successfully roll out 5G could change the game for that carrier. As this could bring in business customers needing those kind of speeds.

But the reality is that building a network takes time. Getting the infrastructure and completing all the required testing will not happen over night, or course of a year. But AT&T may have a trick up their sleeves to fool customers.

Similar to what they did with LTE, they will be having their phones show a fake 5G logo. 5G E (evolution as it will be called) will be like HSPA+ was 7 years ago. Basically it will be a sped up LTE network to both bridge between the speeds of LTE and 5G, and fool people who see that 5G into thinking they have 5G on their phones. AT&T customers could start to see this “5G (E)” at the start of 2019.

I am just waiting for John Legere to call AT&T out on their “5G (E)” network in a future commercial or press conference.